Spotify CEO explains what the company’s new Samsung partnership means

After its announcements for the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Watch, and Galaxy Home during its Unpacked event in NYC, Samsung brought Spotify CEO Daniel Ek on-stage to talk about a new partnership between the two companies. Samsung says that Spotify is now its go-to music streaming partner and is working with the company to bring a more seamless listening experience to its customers, but what does that actually mean?

Shortly after the event, Ek highlighted some of the user-facing changes that are on their way as part of the new deal via a blog post.

When asked “What can users look forward to right away?”, Ek said:

Users can get excited about Spotify becoming part of the set-up experience on a Samsung device from the very beginning. For example, when someone buys a phone, the user can easily discover the Spotify app on Samsung Smart Switch. And soon, Samsung Smart TV users will be able to play Spotify through the SmartThings app.

Galaxy smartphone owners that still use Bixby will also get deeper Spotify integration, and soon, Spotify will be the “only music service to be fully integrated with Samsung Music.” Even if you’ve never listened to Spotify before, Bixby will still pull songs from it if you ask the assistant to play some music.

As for making the Spotify listening experience more seamless across multiple Samsung devices, Ek said:

When you buy a new Samsung phone and use the SmartThings app to set up your Samsung Smart TV or Galaxy Home, you will be prompted to link your Spotify account. So right from the beginning, you’ll have that collaboration. It only takes a few simple steps.

Furthermore, “when a user enters Wi-Fi while listening to music on mobile with the Spotify app, they’ll be able to move playback from the lock screen, instead of having to go back in the Spotify app.”

Daniel Ek also notes that this is “just the start of things to come”, suggesting that we’ll see even more Spotify integrations with future Samsung products down the road.